The US military yesterday said it regretted not giving South Korea timely notice about an air force drill that reportedly triggered a midair standoff with China.
Ten US F-16 jets on Feb. 18 flew into an area over the Yellow Sea between the South Korean and Chinese air defense identification zones, South Korean media reports said.
Although the US planes did not enter China’s air defense identification zone, Beijing scrambled planes as they neared the area, the reports said.
Photo: EPA
No clashes occurred, but South Korean Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-back lodged a complaint with US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander General Xavier Brunson over the drills that he said heightened military tensions near the peninsula, Yonhap news agency said.
Yonhap cited a military source in reporting that Brunson apologized — a claim USFK later denied.
“We don’t make apologies for maintaining readiness,” USFK said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Photo: Reuters
However, USFK yesterday said Brunson had spoken to Ahn and “expressed regret” that Seoul’s defense officials had not been briefed on the drill “in time.”
USFK “conducts regular training to maintain the highest level of readiness and ensure it can fulfill its mission,” it said in a statement, which did not acknowledge whether the standoff with Chinese jets took place.
The rare public airing of tensions between the allies comes as the US has hinted at reducing its role in deterring North Korean aggression while urging South Korea to take the lead in countering Pyongyang.
Nevertheless, the US and South Korean militaries yesterday said they would conduct their annual springtime exercises next month to bolster their countries’ combined defense capabilities against a backdrop of a deepening diplomatic freeze with nuclear-armed North Korea.
The Freedom Shield drills are set for March 9 to 19, according to the announcement.
Freedom Shield is one of two “command post” exercises that the allies conduct each year; the other is Ulchi Freedom Shield in August. The drills are largely computer-simulated and designed to test the allies’ joint operational capabilities while incorporating evolving war scenarios and security challenges.
As usual, next month’s drill would be accompanied by a field training program called Warrior Shield to enhance “training realism and combat readiness,” USFK Public Affairs Director Colonel Ryan Donald told a news conference.
South Korean and US officials have not said how many troops would participate. The exercises typically involve thousands.
There has been speculation that the allies are seeking to tone down the drills to create conditions for dialogue with North Korea.
Additional reporting by AP
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